Birthday Brothers
by Goldsaddletank
Summary: To celebrate his 97th birthday, Luke finally gets the chance to meet with his brother, Peter Pan. But, things don't turn out as expected (Written as a tribute to Luke and Peter Pan, to celebrate their 97th birthday this year)
1. A Birthday Song

Despite being deeply asleep, Luke felt something soft and gentle, like a butterfly's wings, brush his cheek. Opening his eyes, he smiled blearily when he saw his adoptive sister, Lexi Heron, who removed her hand from Luke's face. She, along with the other narrow-gauge engines and his crew, Geoffrey Heron and Richard Wilson, were all grinning ear to ear when they saw he was finally awake.

"What's- going on here?" He asked sleepily, trying to stifle a yawn as he blinked owlishly at his friends.

In response, Skarloey started to sing a cheerful little song, with an oddly familiar tune, and the others quickly joined in.

"_Oh, tis a joyous day to live and be,_

_For we bring good tidings to thee! _

_We hear today's your birthday, _

_And so, we shout hooray!" _

Luke was very surprised and moved at his friend's own unique take on the Happy Birthday song. "Thank you all," he beamed. "That was an unexpected surprise."

"Thank Skarloey," Said Rusty, smiling fondly at the little Irish engine before shooting a glance over at the surprisingly smug Skarloey. "He's surprisingly good at creating songs, he is."

"Yep- and we thought Duncan was meant to be the musical one!" Joked Peter Sam, and the others laughed; even Duncan himself started chuckling a little.

"Happy birthday, old boy," Said Geoffrey warmly, patting his engine's buffer proudly.

"No disrespect, Mr. Heron, but I'm not that old." Luke replied, though he was grinning.

"97 years old already? Gosh, they always grow up so quickly, don't they?" Rheneas asked Skarloey jokingly, winking at Skarloey.

"I certainly don't feel 97," Said Luke, thoughtfully. "Is that normal?"

"Well, you'll feel it soon enough," Replied Skarloey; though whether he was being serious or not, the others had no idea.

But Lexi gave Luke a hug, and the other engines, their crews and Richard wished Luke a happy 97th birthday individually.

"Yes- happy birthday indeed, Luke," said the Thin Controller with a smile. His sudden appearance startled the engines; though he usually arrived at this time to brief the engines. "I still require you to do your usual job at the Blue Mountain Quarry today, however." He added.

"That's fine by me, sir," Luke puffed up with pride.

"But," continued the Thin Controller, raising a hand. "I had a request from Duke; he asked me if I could defer his afternoon train to Ulfstead Castle to you, as a gift, of sorts."

Luke was amazed at Duke's act of kindness. "I must remember to thank Granpuff when I next see him." He said determinedly. "I feel honoured to take Duke's train, sir."

"Excellent." The Thin Controller said approvingly. "And…" he continued mysteriously. "There will be a surprise for you when you return to the yard."

Luke was excited to hear of this news. "That sounds wonderful sir! Thank you so much!" He peeped, beaming from buffer to buffer. His friends all looked pleased to see Luke so happy.

The Thin Controller smiled and nodded, before he started assigning the other engines to their duties; and with their jobs locked in their funnels, everyone set off to go and fulfil them.

….

At the Blue Mountain Quarry, Luke was fizzling and sizzling with curiosity to find out what his birthday surprise was. He was, however, temporarily distracted when Rusty offered to swap jobs with him so he could work with Owen for a while.

Luke liked the idea; he liked Owen, and the two talked well together; but it was difficult sometimes, considering Owen was usually much, much higher than Luke.

"Thank you, Rusty!" He beamed. "I appreciate it!"

"No worries, Luke," Smiled Rusty. "Anything for you."

Luke let off a cheery PEEP! PEEP! Before hustling off to the Upper Terrace of the Quarry to tell Owen it was his birthday.


	2. Pen blwydd hapus, hen gyfaill!

"Going down…. Next stop, the very- Agh!" Owen nearly jumped off his supports in fright as he heard a loud whistle blow next to him; but he quickly relaxed when he saw it was only his dear little friend sitting by his side with a huge, buck toothed smile on his face.

"Hello, Owen!" Luke exclaimed delightedly, his huge, childlike eyes sparkling with joy at being with his dear, faithful friend, Owen.

"Oh, hello, Luke!" Owen greeted warmly, blushing sheepishly at being frightened by his friend; but was nonetheless pleased to see his little friend Luke working with him today. He always enjoyed the young Irish engine's company…

"What a surprise seeing you up here today! I was expecting Rusty…"

"Oh, Rusty let me switch especially for today!" Luke answered excitedly, steam whooshing from his valves with glee. "How are you, Owen?" he asked politely.

"I'm fine, Luke, thank you. And what about you? You look particularly chuffed this morning… pun not intended. Is it about what's happening today, by any chance?" He asked.

Luke chuckled. "Yep. You'll never guess what today is!" He said gleefully, his facial expression somehow even brighter than before.

Owen was very surprised to hear this, for he couldn't recall any special occasions in March. "Oh, um… It's a day in March…" he offered uncertainly, causing Luke to laugh.

"Oh, you're funny, Owen!" Luke said sincerely, his voice filled with affection for his old friend. "But it's a very special day!" He emphasized, hoping Owen would get the hint.

At last, understanding dawned on Owen's face. "Ah, I see!" He exclaimed. "Pen blwydd hapus, hen gyfaill!" He boomed affectionately.

"Pardon, Owen?" Luke asked, confused. He thought it sounded Welsh, as he heard Skarloey speak Welsh sometimes, but he didn't understand it.

"I said 'Happy Birthday, old friend' in Welsh," Owen translated. "Sorry, Luke, I forgot you're more fluent in Irish than in Welsh."

"I appreciate the sentiment, regardless of how it's said," Luke answered kindly, appreciative of Owen's well-wishing. "Thank you, Owen. That was lovely."

"Oh, you're welcome, boyo," Replied Owen warmly. "I'm glad you told me it was birthday today. You're one of my oldest and closest friends, and I'd hate to not have said something to you about it." He glanced towards the opposite direction of the quarry, where a certain someone was still in the realm of Morpheus…

"Excuse me a moment, Luke." He quickly turned his attention to Merrick, who was still slumbering. "Oi, Merrick! He yelled across the quarry at his friend, who was snoring quite loudly. "Wake up, Merrick, you sleepy hook, you!"

Merrick's eyes shot open with a start. Down below, Skarloey thanked Proteus for that; he had tried to get Merrick awake for twenty minutes; but the silly crane couldn't hear him!

"Huh…. What? Where's the meteorite hitting?" Asked Merrick, in a sleepy confusion that made Luke and Owen laugh. Even Skarloey, unbeknownst to the unlikely duo, was chuckling, despite his irritation at running late.

"There's no meteorite, silly!" Chuckled Owen, glancing fondly at Luke before looking back to Merrick. "Just a little star today! It's Luke's birthday!" He called back to Merrick, who looked very startled to hear the news.

"Oh, is it?" Merrick yawned in surprise. "Well, happy birthday Luke. Many happy returns." He said.

"Thank you, Merrick!" Luke whistled, touched at Merrick's heartfelt greeting; he didn't even mind too much that his friend had unintentionally yawned in the middle of it.

Merrick was about to nod off again when Skarloey quickly intervened. "Don't even think about it! Merrick!" He called out, and the young crane's eyes shot open again. "I've been trying to wake you up for nearly twenty minutes, boyo! I hate to rush you, but these trucks need loading!" Old Faithful called up, remaining as polite as possible.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Skarloey!" Gasped Merrick, who quickly roused himself awake, ready to start work. "I must have stayed up later than usual! I'll get going right away!"

"It's alright, Merrick, but go easy on the stargazing, alright?" Asked the old engine with a paternal sternness. "We need you to be alert, Merrick. Especially with health and safety."

"Noted, Skarloey!" Merrick answered with a gulp, relieved that Skarloey wasn't cross with him.

….

Owen had been witnessing the exchange when he suddenly gasped in shock as he realized something. "Luke bach, why didn't you say something to any of us before?" He asked. "You been on the Island for over sixteen years, yet now we find out when your birthday is?"

"Mr. Heron and Mr. Wilson were the only two who knew- and that was because they knew me before I came here to Sodor." Luke admitted in response. "But neither myself nor my crew mentioned my birthday in previous years because I didn't feel right celebrating my birthday, when I thought I was responsible for unintentionally ending Victor's life." The little Irish explained.

Owen gulped, realizing too late that he should have been more careful about approaching the topic. "Sorry, Luke. I didn't mean to bring up the past… I just…"

"It's alright, Owen, please don't apologize," Luke replied kindly, "You didn't mean any harm, and besides, I never explained my reasons for this until now, so you weren't to know."

"Still, I"-

"Please, can we just enjoy today, without mention of the past?" Luke pleaded earnestly. "I know you didn't mean harm, Owen, and I forgive you, but I don't want to talk about it anymore. Please."

"Ok." Owen dropped the subject, relieved that he hadn't spoiled Luke's birthday. He resolved to do everything in his power to ensure his little Wren had a great day.

So, he told Luke about the time when he and Merrick first met Gator the Columbian Engine, and of how Merrick thought he was an alien.

"… and Gator just said, '"A little green engine from Mars? It's hardly a… flattering comparison, but certainly a unique one, Merrick!"' He's been our friend ever since." Owen chuckled at the memory, and Luke laughed at the image in his mind, of Merrick seeing an alien.


End file.
